Basilica di San Marino
Encyclopedia
San Marino
San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino , is a state situated on the Italian Peninsula on the eastern side of the Apennine Mountains. It is an enclave surrounded by Italy. Its size is just over with an estimated population of over 30,000. Its capital is the City of San Marino...
. While the country has a distinct domination of historic religious buildings of Christian faith, the basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
is the main church of the City of San Marino. It is situated on the Piazza Domus Plebis in the northeastern edge of the city, adjacent to the Church of St. Peter. It is dedicated to San Marino diacono, the founder and patron of the Republic.
The present church was built in 1836 in place of an earlier one that dated to 7th century. It is built in the Neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
style, with a porch
Porch
A porch is external to the walls of the main building proper, but may be enclosed by screen, latticework, broad windows, or other light frame walls extending from the main structure.There are various styles of porches, all of which depend on the architectural tradition of its location...
of eight Corinthian
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
columns. Relics of St. Marino are enshrined in the basilica.
History
An earlier church was erected on the spot in the 4th century which was dedicated to the same patron. The first document attesting the existence of the church dates to 530 in the La Vita di San Severino by EugippiusEugippius
Eugippius was a disciple and the biographer of Saint Severinus of Noricum. After the latter's death in 492, he took the remains to Naples and founded a monastery on the site of a 1st century Roman villa, the Castellum Lucullanum .While at Naples, Eugippius compiled a 1000-page anthology of the...
. A later document, the Placito Feretrano, dates from 885. The first document that directly relates to the "Pieve di San Marino" is dated 31 July, 1113, with donations from the faithful public.
At the beginning of the 1800s, the church was in critical condition. In 1807, it was razed
Demolition
Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings and other structures, the opposite of construction. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use....
and a project for the construction of the new church was handed to the Bolognese
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
Achille Serra
Achille Serra (architect)
Achille Serra was a Bolognese architect who was involved in rebuilding the Basilica di San Marino in the early 19th century....
. On July 24, 1825, the council decided to build a new church in the place where the old church had stood. Construction began on 28 July, 1826 and was completed in 1838. On February 5, 1838, the church was solemnly inaugurated in the presence of the Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of Montefeltro
Montefeltro
thumb|Coat of Arms of the Montefeltro family.Montefeltro is the name of an historical Italian family who ruled Urbino and Rimini.The family's reign began in 1267 when Buonconte I da Montefeltro was elected podestà of Urbino...
, Crispino Agostinucci
Crispino Agostinucci
Crispino Agostinucci was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop. Born in Urbino, he was appointed as Bishop of Montefeltro on November 5, 1849, a position he held until his death in 1856.On February 5 1838, the Basilica di San Marino in San Marino was solemnly inaugurated by Agostinucci and the...
and the Captain's-Regent. On July 21, 1926, it was elevated to the rank of Basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
by Pius XI. The construction cost was 40,150 scudi
Papal States scudo
The Roman scudo was the currency of the Papal States until 1866. It was subdivided into 100 baiocchi , each of 5 quattrini...
and 76 baiocchi
Baiocco
The baiocco is an ancient Italian currency denomination largely used in Central Italy, especially in Latium. The origin of the name is uncertain. Its value was originally equivalent to a shilling, slowly changing through centuries into five quattrini, or consequently twenty pennies...
.
On August 29, 1982, the basilica was visited by John Paul II who blessed the church and the relics related to the deacon of San Marino. The Basilica of San Marino is depicted on the ten cent additions of the Sammarinese euro coins
San Marino euro coins
Sammarinese euro coins feature separate designs for every coin. All the coins are inscribed with the words "San Marino" and the twelve stars of the EU.-Sammarinese euro design:...
.
Over the course of centuries, the basilica has witnessed civil turmoil. Because of this, in 1992, the Vatican made several decrees. These included that the basilica, as the mother-church of all churches within the Republic, is made exempt from the jurisdiction of the parish of the city of San Marino. The basilica is entrusted to the care of a priest who holds the title of Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
, and the Rector is appointed and removed in accordance with canon law.
Architecture
The interior of the basilica consists of three naveNave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
s, supported by sixteen Corinthian columns which form a large ambulatory
Ambulatory
The ambulatory is the covered passage around a cloister. The term is sometimes applied to the procession way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar....
around the semicircular apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
. The front porch of 8 columns, six at the front and two either side, has a Latin inscription written above it which reads "DIVO. MARINO. PATRONO. ET. LIBERTATIS. AVCTORI. SEN. P. Q.". The altar is adorned by a statue of St. Marino by Adamo Tadolini, a student of Antonio Canova
Antonio Canova
Antonio Canova was an Italian sculptor from the Republic of Venice who became famous for his marble sculptures that delicately rendered nude flesh...
. Under the altar are relics of St. Marino which were found on March 3, 1586; some relics were donated to the island of Rab
Rab
Rab is an island in Croatia and a town of the same name located just off the northern Croatian coast in the Adriatic Sea.The island is long, has an area of and 9,480 inhabitants . The highest peak is Kamenjak at 408 meters...
(Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
), the birthplace of the saint, on January 28, 1595. A reliquary bust in silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
and gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
dated to 2 September, 1602 lies to the right of altar. In the right aisle is a small altar dedicated to Mary Magdelene and a painting by Elisabetta Sirani
Elisabetta Sirani
Elisabetta Sirani was an Italian Baroque painter whose father was the painter Giovanni Andrea Sirani of the School of Bologna-Biography:...
, Noli Me Tangere
Noli me tangere
Noli me tangere, meaning "don't touch me" / "touch me not", is the Latin version of words spoken, according to , by Jesus to Mary Magdalene when she recognizes him after his resurrection....
.
Chiesa di San Pietro
The Chiesa di San PietroChiesa di San Pietro (San Marino)
Chiesa di San Pietro is a church in San Marino. It belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Marino-Montefeltro. It was founded in 1689....
is located at the Basilica of San Marino, to the side of the front steps. It was originally built in 600. It houses a valuable altar with inlaid marble, donated by the musician Antonio Tedeschi in 1689, which is surmounted by a statue dedicated to St. Peter by Enrico Saroldi
Enrico Saroldi
Enrico Saroldi was an Italian sculptor. He was primarily a monumental sculptor, and his works may be seen throughout Italy in churches and public places. Saroldi studed at the Brera in Milan under Enrico Butti, and lived and worked in Milan for the duration of his career.-Reference:, 1910....
. In the crypt of this church there are two niches cut into rock that are said to be the beds of San Marino and San Leo
San Leo
San Leo is a comune in the Province of Rimini in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 135 km southeast of Bologna and about 35 km southwest of Rimini.-Geography:...
. Inside is a monument to Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
, erected by the Government of the Republic.
Celebrations
Several liturgical celebrations are stipulated for the basilica. Amongst these are included: the election and the establishment of the Captains Regent; the anniversary celebration of the Republic's Militia (March 25); national and religious holidays of San Marino, the Founder and Patron of the Republic (September 3), and St. Agatha, patroness of the Republic (February 5); and the religious festival honoring the St. of the Body and Blood of Christ.The basilica can also function as a venue for popular events such as the XII Autumn Music Festival production in 2010 of Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's Requiem Mass
Requiem (Mozart)
The Requiem Mass in D minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was composed in Vienna in 1791 and left unfinished at the composer's death. A completion by Franz Xaver Süssmayr was delivered to Count Franz von Walsegg, who had anonymously commissioned the piece for a requiem Mass to commemorate the...
.